As in effect on May 1, 2008
A. "Accreditation" means formal Northwest and Board approval of a school that has met standards considered by the Board to be essential for the operation of a quality school program.
B. "Annual Report" means a document that explains a school's compliance with educational standards and progress provided by the school in its school improvement plan. The school improvement plan is a dynamic document that reflects changes and progress made by the school community. The Annual Report also provides definitions and criteria required by Northwest for accreditation.
C. "Board" means the Utah State Board of Education.
D. "Northwest" means Northwest Association of Accredited Schools the regional accrediting association of which Utah is a member.
E. "Secondary school" for the purpose of this rule means a school that includes grades 9-12 including public, private, parochial, alternative, and special purpose schools offering credits toward high school graduation or diplomas or both.
F. "State Committee" means the State Accreditation Committee, which is composed of public school administrators, school district personnel, private and special purpose school representatives, and USOE personnel.
G. "USOE" means the Utah State Office of Education.
H. "Visiting team" means a team composed of three to eight active educators as determined by the size of the school, trained by the USOE in accreditation procedures and standards.
A. This rule is authorized by Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3 which vests general control and supervision of public education in the Board, Section 53A-1-402(1)(c) which directs the Board to adopt rules for school accreditation, and Section 53A-1-401(3) which allows the Board to adopt rules in accordance with its responsibilities.
B. The purpose of this rule is to:
(1) specify the standards and procedures by which secondary schools shall become accredited by the Board; and
(2) provide for additional requirements, which are unique to the state of Utah to be added to the Northwest Annual Report.
A. The Board accepts the Northwest standards as the basis for its accreditation standards for school accreditation.
B. The Board requires the satisfaction of additional specific Utah standards in addition to required Northwest standards, to satisfy Utah accreditation for Utah public schools.
C. A school shall complete the Annual Report provided by Northwest and submit the report to the USOE.
D. A school shall have a complete school evaluation and site visit at least once every six years to maintain its accreditation.
E. The USOE may require on-site visits as often as necessary when it receives notice of accreditation problems, as determined by Northwest, the USOE, or the State Committee.
F. The school's accreditation rating is recommended by the State Committee following a review of a school's Annual Report. Final approval of the rating is determined by the Board.
G. The classification ratings for accredited schools as designated by Northwest shall be:
(1) Approved: a school is classified as approved when it equals or exceeds the standards approved by Northwest and the Board.
(2) Approved with comment: a school is classified as Northwest/Board approved with comment when it has only minor deviations from specific standards.
(3) Advised: a school is classified as advised when there are deviations from one or more standard(s). Schools shall also be classified as advised when no observable effort has been made, by the second year, to correct deviations from a standard upon which comment was made in the previous year.
(4) Warned: a school is classified as warned when there are substantial deviations from one or more standard(s). A warned classification is usually given after a school has been advised and the deviation persists in the next Annual Report. A school may be dropped after two consecutive warned classifications, as recommended by the State Committee to the Board.
H. An accredited school may not be dropped to a non-accredited status without first receiving a warned classification. Exceptions to this procedure may be made due to discrepancies between information provided on the Annual Report and data received or by observations of the State Committee.
I. If a school disagrees with the recommendation of the State Committee, it may appeal as outlined in the USOE accreditation policies and procedures, maintained at the USOE.
J. All Northwest schools shall submit their Annual Report to the USOE by October 15 of each year.
K. Public junior high and middle schools that include 9th grade shall be visited and assigned status at least every six years by the USOE using Northwest accreditation standards. The schools are not required, however, to be members of Northwest or file annual reports.
A. The evaluation of secondary schools for the purpose of accreditation is a cooperative activity in which the school, the school district, the USOE, and Northwest share responsibilities. A school's self-evaluation, development, and implementation of a school improvement plan are the crucial primary steps toward accreditation.
B. A school seeking Northwest accreditation for the first time shall submit a membership application to Northwest. The accepted application shall be forwarded to the USOE.
(1) Upon a visit by USOE staff verifying a school's compliance with accreditation standards, the school shall then receive provisional accreditation.
(2) Within three years of receiving provisional, accreditation, a candidate school shall complete a self-evaluation utilizing materials and protocols recommended and/or provided by the USOE.
(3) Provisional schools shall be visited annually until they have completed their first self- evaluation and full-team visit.
C. Northwest accredited schools shall be subject to:
(1) compliance with Northwest membership requirements;
(2) receipt and review of annual reports by the State Committee;
(3) satisfactory review by the State Committee, Northwest, and final Board approval;
(4) a new self-evaluation and site visit at least every six years by a visiting team assigned by the USOE to review the self-evaluation materials, visit classes, and talk with staff and students as follows:
(a) The visiting team shall present its finding in the form of a written report in a timely manner. The report shall be provided to the school, school district superintendent or local charter board chair, USOE staff, and the Board.
(b) USOE staff shall review the visiting team report, consult with the State Committee and Northwest and recommend appropriate accreditation status to the Board.
D. Following review and acceptance, accreditation visiting team reports are public information and are available online.
E. The Board is the final accrediting authority.
A. Board accreditation standards include Northwest standards and Utah-specific requirements. Each standard requires the school to respond to a series of indicator statements and provide evidence of compliance as directed.
B. Northwest Core Standards for Accreditation.
(1) Teaching and Learning Standards
(a) Mission, Beliefs and Desired Results for Student Learning.
(b) Curriculum
(c) Instruction
(d) Assessment
(2) Support Standards
(a) Leadership and Organization
(b) School Services
(i) Student Support Service
(ii) Guidance Services
(iii) Health Services
(iv) Library Information Services
(v) Special Education Services
(vi) Family and Community Services
(c) Facilities and Finance
(3) School Improvement Standard
(a) Culture of Continual Improvement
C. Utah-specific indicators have been added to the Northwest standard indicators which include essential information sought from schools to demonstrate alignment with Utah law and Board rules. Utah-specific indicators are available from the USOE Curriculum Section.
accreditation
August 7, 2007
February 26, 2004
Art X Sec 3; 53A-1-402(1); 53A-1-401(3)
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